Leona Maguire's father, Declan, has told Northern Sound of the 'unreal' support his daughter received from the Irish crowd when she helped Europe to victory in the Solheim Cup at the weekend.
The Cavan girl proved to be a vital part of Team Europe who retained the most coveted title in professional ladies golf, and her father said that was, in part, down to the 'magical' atmosphere provided by Irish fans who followed Leona during the competition in Spain.
A tired Declan Maguire joined the Joe Finnegan Show earlier where he described the crowd who cheered his daughter on as her '15th club'. He also said Leona loves playing as part of a team and enjoys going to watch football and camogie matches with his when she is at home for that reason.
The Solheim Cup is the most prestigious title in professional women's golf. Much like the men's Ryder Cup, teams from Europe and the United States compete in the biennial tournament. Leona Maguire from Ballyconnell also played a crucial part in the Europe team that won the Cup when it was last contested in Ohio two years ago.
"What really made it for Leona this time was the level of Irish support that was there, it was unreal," Mr Maguire said. "It was all over the place. Even the other team members, they couldn't get over the support we had; people from Cork, Donegal, apart from our own county here in Cavan.
"It was absolutely brilliant."
